Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM

Compact telephoto for R-mount bodies

The Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM arrived with far more fanfare than traditional f/4 zoom lenses. For starters, it’s the shortest and lightest 70-200mm f/4 in the world – it’s only just larger than a fizzy drink can when collapsed! And it delivers an astonishing maximum of 7.5 stops of stabilisation on recent IBIS-enabled R-series cameras, making it truly formidable for handheld shooting.

While there’s a lot to like about this lens, it is incompatible with the Canon RF Extender RF 1.4x and RF 2.0x teleconverters. This is a physical limitation due to the collapsing nature of the lens, but it’s a big drawback for a 70-200mm optic.

Performance

The RF 70-200mm f/4L is a bit of a tale of two halves. On the one hand, centre sharpness is uniformly excellent – even shooting at the full 200mm extension, which is where telephotos often fall short. While full zoom is sharpest at f/5.6, the lens otherwise sees peak performance wide open at f/4 – which is great if you’re shooting in low-light conditions or want to achieve the best subject separation.

Corner sharpness, however, falls short of expectations at the wide end and mid-range. This may be less of an issue depending on how you compose your shots, but the inconsistency is disappointing for a high-quality L lens.

In terms of autofocus, the f/4L seems to perform as snappily as the trinity version thanks to the same dual floating Nano USM design. Even when photographing darting subjects like squirrels and birds, the AF didn’t miss a beat – and on human subjects, the Eye AF is as ungodly good as it is with any other optic.

While the focusing system doesn’t entirely suppress focus breathing, the phenomenon is controlled pretty well, and makes this lens well suited to videography, particularly with the nearsilent AF performance. James Artaius

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The customisable control ring can be mapped to adjust exposure values such as ISO, white balance and shutter speed.

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The telescoping zoom mechanism extends the lens barrel as you zoom in. It features a perforated seal on the moving inner barrel, to enable air movement while keeping dust and moisture out.

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The optic is weather sealed and built to last, with vibration- and shock-resistant construction.